SWALIMO members protest at Sihlangu, Togo match
MBABANE – Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO) members launched a protest action during the Sihlangu and Togo match.
The Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers match between the Eswatini national team and Togo was played on Sunday at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, South Africa.
Sihlangu was beaten 2-0 by the Sparrowhawks of Togo to shatter its dream of qualifying for the AFCON finals, but that was one part of their challenges on the day.
A source shared that at least 20 minutes into the match, SWALIMO members started shouting and dancing while waving placards in protest.
Placards
One of the placards had a message that read: “They messed up their own stadium and they want to mess up Mbombela too.”
The source shared that the members of the political party were allegedly name-calling the local players, those in the security forces teams in particular.
This is because there are strong beliefs that some members of the security forces allegedly shot civilians during the June 2021 political unrest.
The source also shared that the protest didn’t stop, such that one official from the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) was seen in a conversation with the security personnel at the stadium and they were then seen calming the protesters thereafter.
“However, they did not stop their protest but continued name-calling the players and planting anarchy,” said the source.
The source also shared that even after the final whistle, the political party members were seen celebrating, despite that Sihlangu went two-goals down.
SWALIMO Spokesperson Thantaza Silolo shared that it was not true that the Togo-Eswatini match was distracted by SWALIMO members.
He said members of the movement who went into the stadium were at the stands with their placards indeed, but they did not invade the pitch of play.
He said the members merely motioned and shouted their message across in protest form.
Unpatriotic
“It is true that Swaziland (Eswatini) should not host her games in foreign land simply because of a failed and unpatriotic government.
“The message is to the effect that Swaziland (Eswatini) can better address her challenges through a transition into democracy, where even sports will become a priority under a government committed to a fair distribution of the country’s wealth and resources. Our protest was not against the players but against the government that makes mockery of emaSwati in an international stage,” he said.
When sought for comment on the matter, EFA Marketing and Communications Manager Muzi Radebe shared that what transpired at the stands had no effect to the game as it played to the final whistle, save to say Sihlangu was not lucky on the day.
“The game was played according to the FIFA rules and required standards and there was no effect coming from the stands,” he shared.
This was not the first time SWALIMO
protested at the same venue as this publication previously reported of a similar activity.
The political party members were seen protesting along the premises of Mbombela Stadium in February 2022, where the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup between Eswatini Premier League team Royal Leopard and South Africa’s DStv Premiership heavyweights Orlando Pirates played.
At the time, popular Television Anchor Robert Marawa also shared on Twitter how he was shocked by the scenes.
Scene
“There was a scene outside the Mbombela Stadium ahead of the CAF Confederation Cup game between Royal Leopard and Orlando Pirates. Fans say they are from the kingdom and will not allow Leopard into the venue in an effort to embarrass the King for his atrocities,” Marawa had tweeted at the time.
However, it was reported that the Leopard’s team bus made it through to the stadium after the police presence enabled access.
Prior to the protest, the political party had confirmed previously to this publication that they would stage a protest before the start of the game, demanding CAF and FIFA to intervene and ban Royal Leopard from participation in these games.
Then SWALIMO Secretary General Dr Siphetfo Dlamini had also highlighted in their five demands that they wanted the Eswatini Government to build a stadium and stop hosting games outside the country.